The first significant wave of Estonian emigrants abroad occurred after the failure of the 1905 revolution in Estonia, which saw the arrival of over 60,000 people into the USA by 1920 according to some government estimates. This led to the formation of many Estonian American socialist and communist organisations.[1]

The next wave came after the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union, up to 70,000 people fled Estonia to the West.[2] Around half of these people sought refuge in Germany and the remainder sought refuge in Sweden. With the end of the war, many ended up in displaced persons camps. Later, many of these emigrated to the United States, the UK, Canada and Australia. This exile community formed many organizations, most of these were cultural.